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Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury is the school's mysophobic guidance counselor . She is also a love interest for Will Schuester. Though initially played as an unrequited love on Emma's part, once Will decided to divorce his wife he revealed his interest. She is portrayed by Jayma Mays. Biography Emma is the guidance counselor at William McKinley High. When she was younger, her brother pushed her into a runoff lagoon at a dairy farm, thus resulting in her mysophobia. Season One In the episode Pilot, we first learn that she has feelings for Will Schuester. He sits with her at lunch. He helps her get gum off of her shoe and she gives him advice to get some of the popular kids to join Glee Club so that the rest would fall right in. She signs up to chaperone with Will to go see the Glee Club's competition, Vocal Adrenaline. At the event, they share a peanut butter sandwich. Once she learns that Will is resigning because his wife is pregnant she makes a meeting with him to give him some advice. He thinks that he needs better financial benefits for his family but Emma shows him a video of himself in the 1993 Glee Club Nationals and tells him that the only life worth living is one he is really passionate about. In Showmance, Emma catches Rachel trying to throw up in the bathroom. Rachel wants to be thinner and prettier like Quinn Fabray. Rachel asks her if she's ever liked a guy so much that it makes her cry and, although she doesn't tell Rachel exactly, she knows this feeling all too well. She glances towards Will who is standing outside of her office and a clip is shown of her sobbing loudly in her car long to the song "All By Myself" Later, Emma runs into Will during his janitorial shift. While she helps him clean, Emma confides that a childhood incident has left her hating messes. He helps her work through it by intimately putting chalk on her nose and the two nearly kiss. Football coach Ken Tanaka sees the whole thing through the window. Ken confronts her about this and tells her that she should stop chasing a married guy. He tells her that he is a good man for her and that she won't do much better than him in their town. Emma is convinced by this and tries to put a stop to her and Will's flirtations because he is married with a baby on the way and she is dating Ken now. In Acafellas, Emma is dating Ken, and supports him in the Acafellas shows. According to Terri, she looks at Will a lot during the shows. Once members of the Acafellas begin to quit, Will is dismayed and is convinced that it's over. Emma advises him not to give up so easily. In Preggers, she discusses with Will and Ken the fact Sue Sylvester now has her own segment ("Sue's Corner") on one of the local TV news broadcasts. Emma and Will sit next to each other during the football game and when the team scores a touchdown they embrace in a celebratory hug, which they pull away from each other self consciously. In The Rhodes Not Taken, Will tells Emma about Quinn's pregnancy. Without revealing her knowledge of Quinn's situation , Emma takes a special in interest in Finn's future and suggests he try for a music scholarship. Performing well in the sectional and regional competitions may help drum up college interest, she tells him, and she suggests trying to bring Rachel back to Glee. She later helps Will find April Rhodes by looking up her transcripts. Emma, who never agreed with Will's idea, is vomited on by a drunken Kurt. She warns Will that April is a bad influence on the kids. She is upset with him because he lets April go on stage at the Invitationals even though she is drunk. In Vitamin D, Will decides to have the boys face the girls in a mash-up competition, with Emma being the "celebrity judge". Sue warns Terri of Emma and Will's attraction and Terri becomes the school nurse to keep an eye on him. She is reminded of the mutual attraction once again, this time from Ken and she tells him to propose to her. She sees Emma and Will discussing the proposal in the hallway and she confronts Emma telling her that she has no chance with Will. Emma tells Terri that Will deserves better than her. Terri then says that her thinking that she is competing for Will's affection is pointless and that she should marry Ken Tanaka. Emma tells Will that she has accepted Ken's proposal and although he tries to be happy for her, he is ultimately upset, and the two share a heartbreaking stare from across the hall. In Mash-Up, Ken and Emma ask Will to help them with the first dance song at their wedding. Emma wants "I Could Have Danced All Night" and Ken wants "The Thong Song." They ask Will to make a mash-up up of the songs and teach Emma how to dance. She also gives advice on how to be popular to Finn and Quinn. During Emma's first dance lesson with Will he performs Ken's choice, "The Thong Song", while dancing around her. He ends up slipping on the train of her overwhelming wedding dress that she wore to the lesson and pulls her on top of him. Ken sees this and gets very jealous. Later, Will goes with Emma as she picks out a new wedding gown. He sees her and is as love-struck as ever. They waltz together to see if she can dance in it while Emma sings her choice of "I Could've Danced All Night" and their attraction is strongly evident once more. In the end Will tells her that he can't get the songs to go together and Emma agrees that the songs are good songs but are just too different, like herself and Ken. In Ballad, she gives Will advice, after he realizes Rachel had a crush on him, he tells her the story of Suzy Pepper. Emma suggests that Will should let Rachel down easy with a song. With Emma in the room, Will sings a mash-up of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Young Girl." Instead of listening to the lyrics, Rachel stares star-struck at Will, as does Emma. In Hairography, Will asks Emma for advice, because he thinks Sue was leaking his competitive set lists to other schools. Emma suggests going directly to the competing schools to find out. In Mattress she tells Will her wedding will be the following Saturday, on the same day as sectionals. Later, Will asks Emma how to find another kid to be in the picture. She apologizes for having to miss sectionals, and Will thinks Ken scheduled the wedding conflict on purpose. Emma defends Ken and Will ends up apologizing. In Sectionals, she is the new Glee director, replacing Will, so she has moved back her wedding by a few hours to be able to take the kids to sectionals. Ken did not take it very well but Will is happy. After they see the Jane Addams Academy, she and the rest of the club freak out and she calls Will. She later confronts Grace Hitchens and Dalton Rumba and calls both of them out for cheating. Will goes to the wedding and finds Emma sitting alone. Ken has dumped her, saying moving the wedding for sectionals was the last straw. She admits that she moved the wedding for Will and not the kids. She tells him that she has emailed her resignation to Figgins because she doesn't want to be at the school anymore as she is ashamed of her actions towards Ken and heartbroken over Will. He grabs her arm and tells her that he has just left his wife but Emma feels it's too soon for him to move on. He tells her that she makes a beautiful bride in which she responds with a teary "thank you.” On the day of her resignation Will realizes that he can't let Emma go and he runs to her office, which is empty. He spots her across the hallway with a box of her belongings just as she is about to leave. He stops her and kisses her for the first time. In Hell-O we find that Emma has not resigned. She is first seen in her office with Will and he points out that it's weird how they've been in the exact situation before except now he can kiss her if he wants to. He leans in to kiss her but she stops him and says she needs to clean up. He tells her that he doesn't care because they've kissed before. Emma apologizes for the unattractive quality of her mysophobia. Will tells her that she is adorable and that she is right; they need to clean up before they can begin a relationship. He suggests a date at his place and she accepts. Later they are slow dancing in Will's living room to Neil Diamond's "Hello Again". Will tells her that it's the perfect song for them and Emma says she loves it. They kiss sweetly before falling on to the couch kissing in an almost passionate manner. Emma breaks away saying that it's too much too fast for her. She confesses that she is a virgin because she hasn't found anyone who won't reject her when things get hard with her problems. Will's reaction to this news is bordering on upset but he tells her it's okay. She doesn't believe him and starts to cry. He grabs her shoulders and tells her that he understands. He kisses her forehead and goes to put in a movie. In between here, Will makes out with Vocal Adrenaline coach Shelby Corcoran and Emma is unaware of this. Several days later Emma is making Will a surprise dinner at his house when Terri comes by to pick up the rest of her DVDs. The two have a bit of a confrontation and Terri goes into the living room and finds Emma's copy of "The Jazz Singer". Emma tells Terri that Will picked "Hello" as their song. Terri tells Emma not to bother sleeping with Will as she is already screwed; "Hello" was her and Will's prom song. Emma is in denial so Terri tells her to look it up in that year's Thunderclap. The next day Will is in Emma's office looking at some of her books when she walks in. She hands him the yearbook that she has just gotten from the library and tells him to turn to the page of the prom. He notices what she is pointing out and says that he has no memories from that night and he didn't even remember the song. Emma tells him that he still does subconsciously. She is on the verge of tears as she tells him that he needs to spend time alone and discover who he is by himself. He plays with a lock of her hair and tells her that she is right. They agree to put their relationship on hold until Will can straighten himself out. She asks him to leave so that she can cry and he does so with a pained expression. Later, Will is watching the Glee Club perform "Hello, Goodbye" but is distracted, clearly thinking of Emma. At the same time, Emma appears in the auditorium on the flight above him and watches him during the performance. In The Power of Madonna she and Will discuss the issues regarding virginity that the Glee girls have been facing recently. They decide to work together to help the girls with Will noting that maybe along the way they can help her also. Later, Emma calls Sue to her office to ask why Madonna is playing everywhere in the school except her office. Sue tells her that she isn't worthy of listening to Madonna as she has no control of her body. Emma confronts Will at the school and tells him that, in order to take control of her body, she was planning on "doing the nasty" with him at his place that night. He agrees. She is next seen looking into the mirror of Will's bathroom wearing a nightgown as she prepares herself to lose her virginity to him. "Like A Virgin" begins and it's a three way cut of her and Will, Santana and Finn, and Rachel and Jesse as all three couples make intimate contact and sing the song. It ends up being a dream sequence and Emma is shown still staring into the mirror. The following Monday Emma goes to Will's office and he is visibly worried about her. She apologizes for avoiding him due to embarrassment and he tells her that she doesn't need to sleep with him to prove anything, that she took control of her body that night when she told herself she wasn't ready and ran out of his apartment albeit with no shoes. He says that they are falling into a pattern and need to instate an official no dating policy until his divorce is final. She sadly asks how long that'll be and he smiles and tells her that he filed that day. Will tells her that while they are waiting, they need to take action and get her help with her problem. He gives her a card for a counselor--along with her shoes that he brought back to her--and she leaves, quietly thanking him. In Bad Reputation, Sue tells Emma she must learn to stand up for her self (and grow a pair), Sue informs Emma about Will's make-out sections with Vocal Adrenaline Coach Shelby: and sleepovers with April Rhodes. Emma, hurt by Will's antics, decides Sue is right and she must confront Will in front of the other teachers as per Sue's instructions. So Emma does so, calling Will a slut and openly declaring their relationship over before walking out angrily. Will later goes to see Emma in her office and apologizes, wishing she could see him in the same way she used to. She bluntly responds she can't but comes to the hopeful conclusion, that if their relationship is ever going to work, they must see each other for who they really are. In Dream On, Artie goes to Emma about his papers of the surgery he wants so hopefully he can walk again. Emma tells him his legs are seriously injured and she does believe that one day a doctor will be able to make Artie walk again, but not for a very long time. Emma tries to be nice about it but basically puts Artie's hopes down, she tells him that it might be good if he comes by to talk to her once a week like he said. He thanks her and leaves his papers with her as he wheels off sadly, Emma feels bad. Emma does not appear in Funk, but is mentioned by Will who says to Sue part of the reason why he got revenge on her is the fact that she wouldn't quit sabotaging his relationship with Emma. In Journey, Will comes to Emma for guidance as he is feeling nervous about the Glee club not placing in Regionals. Emma reminds him of when she showed him the video of himself at Nationals and him saying that that was the best moment of his life because he loved what he was doing. She asks him isn't that what he's been trying to teach them all along , that winning isn't what matters most. He laughs lightly and tells her hat he misses her. She then tells him that she's been seeing her dentist every night after he asked her out during her last appointment. Will starts to ask if they've had sex but stops himself - although Emma denies that they have. She says that she thinks that she and Will already had their shot. Will leaves, indifferently thanking Emma for her help. Later Emma is seen by Will arguing loudly with Figgins. After she storms out Will asks her what was going on and she is upset that the club has been canceled at the hands of Sue, even though they've worked hard. He tells her that a deal is a deal and they lost. She says that she doesn't care what anyone says as some things are worth fighting for. He asks if she means the kids and she replies with "of course". He asks if there's anything else and she says no, that it is about the Glee club and not about them and tries to walk off. He grabs her arm saying, "the hell it isn't" then professes his love for her by saying "I love you Emma. There I finally said it. And you love me. Dentist or not, this thing isn't over between us". He then kisses her and afterwards she is left looking stunned as she watches him walk off. Personality Emma could easily be seen as the ideal counselor. Sweet, insightful, selfless and empathic, Emma is constantly doing what she can to offer good and helpful advice to not only the students, but also to those that she cares about (primarily Will). Unfortunately, despite the fact that Emma tries her best to be logical in her advice, she often lets her emotions take advantage of her actions. Her relationships with Will and Ken are obvious example, as Emma not only began dating, but also agreed to get engaged to him, although she did not even like, all so as to try and spare herself the pain of pining for Will. Because of Emma's natural kindness, this has also caused her to become extremely meek towards dominant people such as Sue and Terri, who often attempt to bully her. However, when push comes to shove, Emma will still try to stand up for herself, and will without a question stand-up for others (i.e. standing up for the glee kids at sectionals.) Emma rarely stands up for her self but did when she finds out Will cheated on her. She has also stood up to Terri telling her that Will deserves much better then her and when Terri found Emma surprising Will at the apartment she asked her if there was a reason why she was there because she wanted her gone when Will got home. She has also shown her bolder side to Figgins by yelling at him about canceling Glee even though they have worked hard all year. She too has shown a snarkier side by asking is Sue had been punched in the face when she had her tear ducts removed. Although Emma seems pretty normal at first glance, like everyone else at the school she has her own sorts of oddities. Most obvious is her mysophobia and OCD. She tries her best to make sure everything around her is neat, hygienic and in order. She always brings her lunch to work, and often will clean her food as she eats it. Emma also had, what some might consider, an unhealthy romantic interest Will. Despite the fact he was married, she often was seen watching him intently, to the point where she would become easily distracted. As previously mentioned, she attempted to cancel out her feelings for Will, by dating a man who was completely wrong for her. This also caused her to become very inconsiderate towards Ken, who she informed that despite dating/engaged, they would not live together, kiss or have anything remotely close to a normal relationship. She reacted maturely to Will telling her that he left his wife although her decision to resign showed her emotional weakness as she didn't want to work at the school any longer because of her feelings for Will and her guilt over Ken. Love Interests Ken Tanaka :Main article: Emma-Ken Relationship Ken Tanaka has pursued Emma for a while, they eventually start dating. In Vitamin D, Ken proposes to her and she says yes as long as they don't move in together and don't see each other after school hours. In the episode Sectionals, Ken ends up dumping her because she moved their wedding back a few hours to take the glee club to Sectionals for Will, which made him realize that he could not do anything to prevent the fact that she loved Will and not him. Will Schuester :Main article: Emma-Will Relationship Emma has been nursing a crush on Will for apparently sometime now, which often causes her to become easily distracted. It is implied that Will himself shares an attraction towards Emma in Showmance, but has never acted on it out of respect and love for his wife Terri Schuester. However, Will often comes to Emma for advice on all his personal problems which only strengthens their mutual attraction. Much to Emma's disdain and Will's slight disappointment, Emma began dating and then became engaged to Will's friend Ken Tanaka. Despite the fact they are technically 'together' Emma refuses to do anything with Ken such as hugging, kissing, or even living together, implying that she is still hoping for Will to be with her. Will's wife Terri, meanwhile is aware of the mutual attraction and once confronted Emma about it. In a moment of uncharacteristic forcefulness, Emma told Terri that she was not good enough for Will. In the episode Sectionals, Ken dumps Emma and leaves her at their wedding. She tells Will when he arrives, along with the fact that she will be resigning as counselor at McKinley. He tells her he left his wife, and at the end of the episode, Will and Emma share a long-awaited kiss in the hallway, just before Emma is about to leave. In the Second half of the first season their relationship continues on rocky grounds, at first they seem to be making their way slowly to 'couple' but when Will tells Emma that they think they should put the relationship on pause at least until after his divorce they still seem fine, Emma even wanting to lose her virginity to him, but was unable to do it. It went from bad to worse where Sue tells Emma of all the other women that Will has been seeing even though he said he wasn't seeing anyone. Betrayed, Emma confronted him, but when Will came to apologize Emma did not accept it and now the relationship is seen as either over or in denial until further notice. In Journey, Emma tells Will that she is now seeing someone. That broke Will's heart which can be shown as he is seen crying in his car. Later, after Emma and Figgin's heated conversation, Will professes his love for her by saying "I love you Emma. There I said it, and you love me. Dentist or no, this thing isn't over between us." He then kisses her and leaves her staring after him in the hall, stunned. Carl Howell Carl is Emma's dentist whom she has been dating since she found out about Will's flings behind her back. They apparently have been dating every night for a while now although they haven't had sex. It is unknown how deeply Emma cares for Carl as he is yet to make an appearance. Seeing as she did not reject Will's kiss after his love confession and her stunned look afterward, her feelings for Will are still there. 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